Heater



Patented June 9, 1925K.

UNITED STATES GEORGE L. MENK, or sT. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

HEATER.

Application led November 19, 1923. Serial No. 675,548.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I GEORGE L. MENK, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Heaters, of which the followingA is aspecification.

rlhis invention relates to heaters and more particularly to suchemploying an electrical heating element. It has for its objects tosecure maximum efficiency from a minimum of wattage in the heatingelement; to distribute tlie heat by forced circulation of air throughthe heater rather than by radiation; and to attain certain advantages aswill Y more fully appear in the following description.

The invention consists-in the novel construction, parts, andcombinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter set forth andpointed out with particularity in the ap pended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a practical adaptation of theinvention,- Y

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the heater, a portion of the side Wallof the shell being broken away to 4show some 'of the interior The .shellis mounted on suitable feet or` legs 2 to support it from the floor orplane on which it is placed in use.

Extending up from the center of the bottom 3 of the shell is an ordinarycommercial electrical heating element 4:, surrounding which is anannular upwardly flaring flange or funnel 5, while in the bottom 3 is aseries of apertures 6 in circular arrangement adjacent to said flange orfunnel 5.

Surrounding the flange or funnel 5 is a series of vertical tubes 7, saidtubes being tted tight in apertures provided therefor in the bottom 3and extending up to a plane somewhat above the flangeor funnel 5 andbeing supported at their upper ends by an annular horizontal flange orledge 8 secured on the inner faces of the side walls of the shell.

Above the tubes 7 is a `baffle 9, preferably comprising a plate or sheetwhich is flanged at its margin and riveted or otherwise secured to oneside wall of the shell, asiat 10, thence extended upward at an inclineto approximately the middle of the shell, and then rebent and extendedhorizontally, as 11, back to the side wall of the shell and theresecured, as at l2. This baffle is also fastened at its ends, as at 13,14, to the adjacent side walls of the shell, thereby completing andconstituting a chamber 15 which is closed except for a seriesof'apertures 16 in the side wall and a series of tubes 17 communicatingtherewith through the platel The tubes 17 extend up vertically andterminate some distance below the top of the shell and are supported attheir upper ends by a cross-bar or plate 18, which latter is secured atits ends to the opposite side walls of the shell. i

ln the top cover plate 19 of the shell is a multiplicity of apertures 2Ofor outlet of the heated air in the shell, while in one of `the sidewalls Lan opening 21 is provided so as to gain access to the interior asoccasion may require, said opening 21 beingnormally closed by a suitabledoor or removable closure 9,2.

In the operation of the heater, the elec-y of heat at the bottom of theheaterA as wellas to make for safety in holding down the temperature atthat portion of the heater.

The upper portions of the tubes 7 become heated, thereby causing anupward draft through them' and, consequently, the outside air is drawninto the tubes from beneath the bottom 3. Air is also drawn in throughthe apertures 6 and into contact with the conical flange 5 so as to takeup a certain amount of the heat which is radiated therefrom and therebyfurther preventing the bottom 3 from becoming unduly heated.

The baffle sheet 9 also becomes heated owing to its location above theelement 4, and the air in the chamber 15 in turn becomes heated andrises in the tubes 17 which also have become heated so as to cause anupward draft through them, the outside air being thereby drawn into thechamber through the apertures 16.

The heated air in the shell 1 from the tubes 7, 17, and apertures 6,passes out through the apertures 20 in the top plate 19, the severalapertures 2O and the inlets and tubes being, of course, proportioned andcorrelated so allow the air to become heated thoroughly before beingdischarged from the shell.

By the correlated construction and arrangement herein set forth a,forced circulation is set up in the shell and a greater effciency isattained from an electrical heating element of a given wattage than ispossible from mere reflection and radiation.

Obviously the heater admits of considerable modification and alterationwithin the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Itis, therefore, not limited to the specific construction and arrangementshown in the accompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:

1. In a heater, a hollow shell, a heating` element at the bottom of theshell, an upwardly flaring, reflecting flange surrounding said heatingelement, a series of vertical tubes surrounding and contiguous to saidreflecting flange, said tubes being open at their lower ends through thebottom of the shell and extending up to a plane above the upper edge ofsaid reflecting flange, and the shell having outlet openings in theupper portion thereof.

2. In a heater, a hollow shell, a heating element at the bottom of theshell, an upwardly flaring, reflecting flange surrounding said heatingelement, a series of vertical tubes surrounding and contiguous to saidreflecting flange, said tubes being open at their lower ends through thebottom of the shell and extending up to a plane above the upper edge ofsaid reflecting flange, an overhanging baffle projecting from the wallof the shell above said heating element and the plane of the upper endsof said tubes, said shell having outlet openings above said baille.

3. In a heater, a hollow shell, a heating element at the bottom of theshell, a reflecting flange surrounding said heating element, said flangeextending from the bottom of the shell and being upwardly flaring, aseries of apertures in the bottom of the shell, surrounding butunderlying within the radius of the upper marginal portion of saidflange, a series of vertical tubes surrounding said reflecting flange,said tubes being open at their lower ends through the bottom of theshell and extending up to a plane above the upper edge of saidreflecting flange, said shell having outlet openings in the upperportion thereof.

Ll. In a heater, a hollow shell, a heating element at the bottom of theshell, an upwardly flaring flange surrounding' said heating element, aseries of apertures in the bottom of said shell surrounding said Hangein relatively close proximity thereto, a series of vertical tubessurrounding said flange, said tubes being open at their lower endsthrough the bottom of the shell and extending up to a plane above theupper edge of said flange, said shell having a chamber above saidheating element and the plane of the upper ends of said tubes, thebottom wall of said chamber constituting a bale, a series of verticaltubes having their lower ends in communication with said chamber andtheir upper ends extending up to a plane below the top of said shell,said chamber having air inlet openings and said shell having outletopenings above the plane of the upper endsof said second mentionedtubes.

5. In a heater, a hollow shell, a heating element at the bottom of theshell, an upwardly Haring flange surrounding said heating element, aseries of apertures in the bottom of the shell surrounding said flangein relatively close proximity thereto, a series of vertical tubessurrounding said flange, said tubes being open at their lower endsthrough the bottom of said shell and extending up to a plane above theupper edge of said flange, said shell having a chamber above saidheat-ing element andV above the plane of the Lipper ends of said tubes,the bottom wall of said chamber inclining upward from one side wall ofthe shell to approximate the middle thereof and the top wall of saidchamber being substantially horizontal, said chamber having inletopening through said side wall of the shell, a series of vertical tubeshaving their lower ends open to communication with said chamber throughthe upper wall thereof and extending up to a plane below the top ofthershell, said shell having outlet openings in the upper portionthereof.

GEORGE L. MENK.

